Category: Tween Reads

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

A Chesapeake Fable: Wind and Oyster Jack

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Wind and Oyster Jack, by Marcia G. Moore/Illustrated by Heather Crow, (Nov. 2017, Schiffer Publishing), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764354229

Recommended for readers 6-10

Oyster Jack is a Chesapeake Bay waterman, out on his boat, Dinah, harvesting oysters. Their friend, Wind, helps them by lifting Dinah’s sails and allowing the boat to move. The weather is getting chilly, though, and Wind is cold. She asks Oyster Jack to share his coat and his blanket, but he can’t – he needs them for himself! – so Wind goes off to find a coat of frost, and a blanket of snow, that she hears about on Jack’s radio. They don’t fit Wind, and Oyster Jack and Dinah are stuck without Wind. Finally, Oyster Jack comes up with a solution that will make everyone happy.

This sweet story, set in the Chesapeake Bay area, is a nice way to introduce different areas of the States to readers, and a good way to talk about the different careers that flourish in different areas and environments. There’s an explanation of the skipjack – the type of boat watermen use when they go out harvesting – at the end, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has a good section on the area’s geography and facts; the Maryland Sea Grant website has a section on the oyster trade and current restoration efforts. The narrative sounds much like a modern-day fable, with the Wind interacting as a living being with Oyster Jack; the resolution explains the windsock’s origin.

This is a text-heavy story, making it a good choice for older readers who can process deeper and longer text. The artwork appears to be watercolor and has an Impressionist feel. The wind has a visible face, and breathes in swirls that cascade through each spread. The light glimmers on the water, and the snow softly blankets the town. Most pages are full-bleed; a few exceptions for large blocks of text are plain, bright white. Bunches of oysters set the tone on the endpages.

If you want to introduce readers to the Chesapeake Bay area, this is a good place to start.

Posted in Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Supernatural thriller: We All Fall Down

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

We All Fall Down, by Natalie D. Richards, (Oct. 2017, Sourcebooks Fire), $10.99, ISBN: 9781492654384

Recommended for readers 13+

Part fated romance, part supernatural thriller, We All Fall Down is the story of Theo and Paige; two friends who are haunted by a night on an old bridge, where an argument between Theo and another classmate turned into a fight; Theo took a swing, but it was Paige who was injured.

Four months later, they’re each trying to move on, but something at the bridge refuses to let them forget. Paige and Theo must work together to stop whatever energy is coming from the bridge.

I had higher hopes for All Fall Down, to be honest. It’s an interesting look at two characters with varying mental illnesses – Theo claims to have “ODD, ADHD… I’ve got to be forgetting some letters here”, and Paige suffers from severe anxiety. The story didn’t really need a supernatural element added to it to be compelling; Natalie Richards had great material to work with, had she gone deeper into the characters, their relationship, and the repercussions of the night Paige was injured. It’s an interesting thriller that started strong, but could have been unputdownable with just a slight change in focus.

Posted in Science Fiction, Tween Reads

Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Children of Exile series heats up with Children of Refuge

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Children of Refuge (Children of Exile #2), by Margaret Peterson Haddix, (Sept. 2017, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1442450066

Recommended for readers 10-14

The second book in Margaret Peterson Haddix’s new series, Children of Exile, is told from Edwy’s point of view. He’s Rosi’s friend and a fellow Fredtown refugee; brought home with the rest of the children and smuggled by his crime lord father into Refuge City to stay with his brother and sister while the violence in his hometown, the Cursed Town, settles down. His brother, Enu, and sister, Kiandra, have no interest in him: have no interest in anything other than the money their father keeps sending, so they can live as they please. Edwy tries to acclimate to life in Refuge City, but can’t get Rosi out of his mind. And when he discovers that Rosi – still stuck in Cursed Town – is in serious danger, he knows he has to act, and that he needs help from his siblings to save Rosi.

I loved Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series; Children of Exile is every bit as compelling. I was drawn to the series by one of my library kids, who asked for Children of Exile shortly after it arrived at my library, and proceeded to tell me how amazing he heard it was from a friend. Haddix does middle grade dystopia well. She makes her societies uncomfortably believable, taking a hard look at current events and applying them to a darker future. Here, she explores race and war; a society so war-torn that an alien society intervenes, and the consequences.

If you haven’t read Children of Exile, I highly recommend it, but you can step into the world with Children of Refuge; it’s a different character’s story, and there is enough exposition to fill you in. With the Shadow Children series still showing up on reading lists, this is a good time to booktalk a new series by the same author. Make a great dystopian middle grade display with The City of Ember series, Lois Lowry’s The Giver books, and Marcus Sedgwick’s Floodland.

 

 

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Intermediate

5-Minute Stories for Minecrafters: Extreme Stories!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

5-Minute Stories for Minecrafters: Extreme Stories from the Extreme Hills, by Greyson Mann/Illustrated by Grace Sandford, (Sept. 2017, Sky Pony Press), $7.99, ISBN: 978-1-5107-2370-2

Recommended for readers 7-10

Buddies Zack, Sophia, and Anthony are Minecraft adventurers on the hunt for treasure. Over the course of eight short stories (or short chapters, since they do follow one adventure), the friends encounter zombies, spiders, exploding Creepers, and a dreaded Enderman! Written for a more intermediate audience, these are fun for a quick read-aloud during a circle time or for kids who are in the mood for something fast that doesn’t require a lot of commitment; something they can pick up during a homework or study break. Themes of working together and friendship frame the relationship between characters and influence choices they make while adventuring. Illustrations throughout the text keep kids in the story’s world, holding their interest.

Overall, a fun book to have available for Minecrafters. My library is loaded with them.

Posted in Fiction, Intermediate, Realistic Fiction

Ballpark Mysteries goes to Cooperstown!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ballpark Mysteries: Christmas in Cooperstown (Super Special #2), by David A. Kelly/Illustrated by Mark Meyers, (Sept. 2017, Random House), $5.99, ISBN: 978-0-399-55192-5

Recommended for readers 6-9

Confession time: While I steer a lot of my readers toward the Ballpark Mysteries books, I hadn’t read one until Christmas in Cooperstown. I’m really glad I did read it, though; despite not being much of a sports fan, I do enjoy a fun mystery, and Christmas in Cooperstown was just what I needed.

Best friends Mike and Kate are volunteering to wrap presents for a charity, Cooperstown Cares, at the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a thank you, they and their friends are invited to a sleepover at the Hall of Fame, which is pretty fantastic. It’s a good thing, too – Mike notices that the Honus Wagner card – a rare baseball card that can go for millions of dollars at auction – has been stolen and replaced with a fake! He and Kate have to track down the clues, find the card and the culprit, and deliver the charity’s gifts on time. Pretty big order!

Sports fans will really enjoy the tidbits of sports history here. I was interested in the science behind discovering the fake card, and using his dad’s business as a baseball card dealer opens the door to some fun trivia and facts throughout the book. “Dugout Notes”, a regular feature in the Mysteries, on Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame finish up the book, along with a recipe for All-Star Blue Chip Muffins, which have a little cameo in the story.

Readers can pick up Christmas at Cooperstown without having read other Ballpark Mysteries; there’s enough exposition that you can easily get into the groove of things. Black and white illustrations by Mark Meyers keep things interesting and moving along.

I got to meet David Kelly at KidLitCon this past weekend and he is the nicest guy! It’s always a bonus when you find out that an author is pretty darn cool on top of being a good writer. He was kind enough to pass on a set of his MVP series for my library kids, too!

MVP – Most Valuable Players – is another sports mystery series for intermediate readers; like Ballpark Mysteries, you can dive into each one separately, with no stress. In the first story, The Gold Medal Mess, we meet the MVPs on the opening spread, where we get their “stats” via an illustration and quick character description: Max is a great athlete and detective; Alice is an archery ace and animal lover; Nico can’t wait to practice and play; Luke loves to exercise his funny bone, and Kat, Luke’s twin sister, captures the best game-day moments on camera. The kids are getting ready for their annual school Olympics, but someone is leaving threatening letters, telling the school to cancel the Olympics or else. When things start going wrong on the big day, it’s up to the five friends to figure out who’s causing the trouble and save the day before someone gets hurt.

Each MVP book covers a different sport and features black and white illustration. The cast is a diverse, all-star group of kids with different interests and talents, and who work together to solve mysteries, help others, and take on bullies. Each book includes bonus facts on each featured sports: The Gold Medal Mess has Olympics facts and photos; other books have terms and diagrams. I’m putting these up on the “NEW” shelf tomorrow, and I expect they’ll be gone just as quickly as I get them up there. A good add to sports fiction and mystery collections!

 

 

 

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Media, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Realistic Fiction, TV Shows, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Part Lois Lane, Part Nancy Drew… Introducing Cici!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Cici’s Journal: The Adventures of a Writer in Training, by Joris Chamblain/Illustrated by Aurelie Neyret, Translated by Carol Burrell, (Nov. 2017, :01FirstSecond), $16.99, ISBN: 9781626722484

Recommended for readers 8-12

Cici’s dream is to become a novelist. She journals her thoughts and ideas, and constantly people watches, much to the chagrin of her mother and friends. Cici doesn’t see it as being nosy; she figures that you need to understand what’s inside of people in order to write about them. But when she starts digging further into people’s lives and expecting her friends to lie to her mother to cover up her “investigations”, they let her know that they’ve had enough. Can Cici learn to be a good friend and an attentive writer?

Originally published in France under the French title Les carnets de Cerise (2012), this is Cici’s first English translation and includes two stories. In the first story (title), Cici discovers an older man walking through the forest every Sunday, covered in paint and lugging cans of paint back and forth. In Hector’s Journal, she tries to get to the bottom of a mystery involving an older woman who takes the same library book out every week. Both times, Cici goes after her subject with gusto, but is often insensitive to her friends and mother. It isn’t until her mentor, a local author, steps in to have a heart to heart with Cici that she finally understands that she’s been using people, and starts taking others into consideration. Kids will recognize themselves and their friends in Cici, especially as she goes through the frustration of disagreeing with Mom and falling out with friends.

The graphic novel is a mix of graphic storytelling and journaling, with doodles, scrapbook pieces, comments, and notes throughout the book. The art is realistic with a soft touch, and Cici has a very fun and eclectic style that will appeal to middle graders. She complains about her friends throughout the book, and with seeming good reason: one girl is in a perpetually bad mood, and Cici herself can be exasperating (mind you, I say this as a 46 year -old mother of three, not a tween). In short, kids will identify with or see their friends in these characters, and dive into Cici’s adventures – and maybe start journaling on their own.

In my neverending quest to create programs that I can booktalk with, Cici’s Journal is a nice fit with a writer’s program I want to test out. Put this one with your Dork Diaries, Amelia’s Notebooks, Wimpy Kid books, My Dumb Diaries, Kate the Great, Origami Yodas, and Popularity Papers.

Posted in Fiction, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Step into YA Cyberpunk with Marie Lu’s Warcross

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Warcross, by Marie Lu, (Sept. 2017, Penguin), $18.99, ISBN: 9780399547966

Recommended for readers 12+

Okay, confession time: I have never read a Marie Lu book. The desire’s been there: the Legend books, the Young Elites series, and most certainly, the upcoming Batman novel she’s writing. I finally saw my chance and jumped on the Lu reader wagon with Warcross, and I am SO glad I did.

Eighteen year-old Emika Chen is a bounty hunter, but not your conventional bounty hunter. Warcross is a MMORPG that’s a global sensation; accessible through VR-type glasses that convince your brain you’re in a different series of worlds. Emika tracks down Warcross players who are betting illegally, or getting up to otherwise shady stuff online, but business has been rough and she’s facing eviction. She decides to hack into the Warcross championships to steal an artifact or two to sell – the same shadiness she’d normally get an assignment to track down – and thanks to a glitch in the game, finds herself visible in front of the world. Hideo Tanaka, Warcross creator and brainchild, flies her out to Japan and immediately hires her to take down a security problem inside the game. He puts her on one of the Warcross championship teams and gives her carte blanche to track down the risk, but what she uncovers goes far deeper than a simple game glitch.

Warcross transports you into the story, making you feel like you’re observing the action from your own viewing area. There’s intrigue and subplots that constantly keep you guessing, and characters that will keep you invested – love them or not. It’s cyberpunk for a whole new generation – Neuromancer crossed with World of Warcraft. Intense writing, diverse characters, some romance, high-speed virtual reality gaming, and personal agendas gone wild make Warcross must-read YA.

 

Warcross received starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

Posted in Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Tween Reads

Science Comics and Dogs: A Reader’s Best Friend

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Science Comics: Dogs – From Predator to Protector, by Andy Hirsch, (Oct. 2017, :01FirstSecond), $12.99, ISBN: 9781626727687

Recommended for readers 8-12

With a rescue pup named Rudy as our host, the latest addition to the Science Comics pack looks at dogs, and their evolution from predatory wolf to man (and woman!)’s best friend. Readers also take a side trip into lessons on genetics and evolution, and the history of dog breeding. Rudy is a sweet, affable guide, forever in search of his favorite bouncy ball; kids are going to love him. Making him a rescue dog adds a nice socially aware touch, and provokes discussion about adopting versus shopping for pets. Kids will learn about Gregor Mendel, the scientist and friar whose work with pea plants made him a pioneer in modern genetics; they’ll learn about observable and inherited traits, and how chromosomes combine to pass along these traits. This is information that applies to everything, not just dogs. It’s packaged with a cute puppy and a bright toy ball, sure, but there’s fantastic, solid learning to be found here.

The Science Comics series keeps getting better. Put copies of this nonfiction series on your shelves and keep a set for your reference collection. They’re that good, making seemingly confusing subjects like genetics accessible to kids and adults alike. I haven’t been able to grasp a conversation about Punnett Squares since high school, but seeing it illustrated and explained in plain English here made it so reasonable! A glossary and additional resources are available at the end of the book. Science Comics are a must-add to middle grade nonfiction collections.

 

Posted in Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Pug and Pig love Halloween!!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Pug & Pig: Trick or Treat, by Sue Lowell Gallion/Illustrated by Joyce Wang, (July 2017, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481449779

Recommended for readers 3-7

They’re back! They’re back! One of my favorite teams in picture books is back! Pug and Pig, the adorable pet duo we met in last year’s Pug Meets Pig, are going trick or treating in their newest story, Pug & Pig: Trick or Treat. That is, if they can agree on a costume: see this cover? Pig is loving life in his costume. It fits nice and snug, the mask is cool, it’s all good. Pug? Just look at Pug. Does that look like a happy Pug? A satisfied with Halloween Pug? Nope. It most certainly does not.

Pug & Pig: Trick or Treat is a story of friendship and compromise. Pug isn’t happy with the Halloween costume, and Pig loves it. But they want to celebrate Halloween together, so what’s a friend to do? Pug takes the situation and spins it to a happy conclusion for everyone, and Pig understands that two friends can have different interests and comfort levels. It’s a great story of negotiation and seeing other points of view for kids, who may not understand why their friends may not love the same things all the time.

Do I need to squeal about Joyce Wan’s art again? Yes, I do. How adorable is this artwork?

Look at the pumpkins: they have Pug’s and Pig’s faces on them! It is physically impossible for me to read a Joyce Wan-illustrated book without squealing the first two or three times. When I read this at my Halloween storytime yesterday, the kids and their caregivers squealed along, too, so I feel completely justified. Parents loved the positive storyline, the fact that it concentrated on the two friends working out their differences together, and the short, simple sentences and repetitive words that make them feel comfortable reading with their kids. One parent asked me if there is a a Pug and Pig book for Christmas too… so, hint, hint, nudge, nudge, Sue Gallion and Joyce Wan.

In the meantime, download this insanely cute activity kit (I’ll be using mine on Monday and Tuesday) and coloring sheets. Tell the Great Pumpkin to leave a copy of Pug & Pig Trick or Treat below your Jack-o-Lantern!

Want to win your own copy of Pug & Pig Trick or Treat? Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway! (U.S. addresses only, please!)

Sue Lowell Gallion is the author of Pug Meets Pig and Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat (Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books). She has two grown-up kids, one grandson, and a black lab mix named Tucker, who all provide writing inspiration. As a printer’s daughter, she has a life-long love of type, paper, and the aroma of ink. She lives in Kansas City, KS. Visit Sue at suegallion.com, follow @SueLGallion on Twitter, and check out her kids’ book recommendations at Goodreads.

 

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Podkin One-Ear is perfect for fantasy fans!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Podkin One-Ear (Longburrow #1), by Kieran Larwood/Illustrated by David Wyatt, (Sept. 2017, Clarion Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9781328695826

Recommended for readers 10-12

An old bard weaves a tale of the legendary warrior, Podkin One-Ear, for an audience gathered for the winter holiday, Bramblemas. In rabbit society, Podkin was the pampered son of a chieftain, lazy and shiftless, while his older sister, Paz, trains hard, knowing she won’t be chieftain because she’s female. When a savage warrior tribe of rabbits – red-eyed, iron-clad, iron-infused – called the Gorm attack Podkin’s burrow, Podkin, Paz, and their baby brother, Pook, run for their lives, the Gorm always one step behind them. Podkin has a magical sword that the Gorm want, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it.

Told in the third person in the bard’s voice, with occasional interludes to provide dialogue between the bard and some curious young rabbits, Podkin One-Ear makes the reader feel like he or she is sitting in a dining hall, listening to an epic tale unfold. David Wyatt’s black and white illustrations add to the epic feel of the story, and inject emotion into the tale; the action scenes and the emotion in his character’s faces evoke strong emotion. It’s a wonderful story about the rise of a hero, and I can’t wait to read more. There are big battles, arms and armor, magic weapons and witches – something for every fantasy fan!

Give this one to your Redwall fans, for sure. If you’ve got Mouse Guard graphic novels (and if you don’t, and have fantasy fans, you really need to), get those ready for readalikes. Lisa Fiedler’s Mouseheart series, plus Erin Hunter’s Warriors (and Seekers, and Survivors) are also great read-alikes, and if you’ve got readers that devour those, this is a good book to introduce them to.